The West Wing has been portrayed in popular culture from TV shows including “The West Wing” and “House of Cards” or on the big screen in films like “The American President.” But what is working in the White House really like? Listen to this week’s episode where we will learn more about the early days of President Kennedy’s West Wing from a staffer who was there. We will also interview former Obama Administration staffers who say they felt echoes of Kennedy in their West Wing more than half a century later.

West Wingers: Then and Now

John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, inspired a generation that transformed America. But not everyone knows the stories behind the man - his experiences as a young serviceman in World War II, how he wrote some of his most memorable speeches, what sparked him to set the country on a path to the moon. Join Matt Porter and Jamie Richardson of the JFK Library Foundation as they dig into the archives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston and interview their colleagues to get a behind-the-scenes look at JFK’s life, legacy, and the era he lived in.

History

Society & Culture

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Politics

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was the mother of a 20th century political dynasty. In this episode, we’ll explore her history through the museum she helped create at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site and speak with historian Barbara Perry, author of Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy - A Political Matriarch

This Earth Day, the JFK Library Foundation announced the Earthshot Innovation Challenge: Northeast U.S. Edition. The challenge is a $100,000 prize to ignite regional innovations to address climate change. Foundation Executive Director Rachel Flor discusses the award and when winner’s will be announced.

From Moonshot to Earthshot

In 1934, the National Archives and Records Administration was created to oversee the protection and dissemination of governmental and historic records of the United States. In this episode, we speak with the Dr. Colleen Shogan, the 11th Archivist of the United States.

A Conversation with U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan

The Hemingway Letters Project seeks to publish a comprehensive edition of the writer Ernest Hemingway’s letters. In this episode, we talk with two of the project's editors, Verna Kale and Sandra Spanier, in advance of the publication of volume 6 of the series. We talk about the detective work they’ve done and how Hemingway’s letters give a deeper understanding of the man.

Hemingway's Letters

What did President Kennedy think of the presidency himself? And what makes a president? In this episode, we hear from JFK himself and talk to historian Alexis Coe about her project at New America on the presidency, as well as her work as an historian.

West Wingers: Then and Now

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